Orlando Gunman’s Wife Tried to Talk Husband Out of Gay Club Attack

An FBI official said authorities believe Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, knew about the plot ahead of time, but they are reluctant to charge her on that basis alone.

The killer, who died in a gun battle with a SWAT team early Sunday, was identified as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American-born Muslim.

The younger Mateen, a New York-born USA citizen of Afghan heritage, was shot dead by police after a three-hour rampage through the nightclub.

She could be charged with being an accessory to 49 counts of murder and 53 counts of attempted murder, a USA law enforcement source said.

A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official said the massacre at the Pulse nightclub was both hate crime and an act of terror.

Little information was available about Salman in the hours and days following the attack – including whether or not she and Mateen were legally married.

Salman went with her husband to Pulse and Disney Springs, where he scouted the places, a law enforcement official said. “Usually a lot of my neighbors, I see them leave, go to work, pull in and out, I didn’t see her a lot”.

Samuel King, openly gay and who was one year ahead of Mateen in high school, said the two often spoke after Mateen graduated in 2004.

Mateen carried out the slaughter with the rifle and a handgun that had been legally purchased although he had twice been investigated in the past by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible connections with militant Islamist groups. Her 3-year-old son was in the back seat of the auto, according to 7Miami News, which captured Salman in the back seat of the vehicle, a hoodie hiding her face from the cameras.

At least four regular customers of Pulse told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday they had seen Mateen there before.

The wife of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen could face charges if it is proven she knew of his plans to commit a gay massacre.

Fort Pierce police spokesman Ed Cunningham confirmed the police escort to Mateen’s address in the 2500 block of South 17th Street, but did not say who was escorted. Both locations were on his radar, but he made his decision and carried out his plan, while his wife was well aware of her husband’s desires to murder innocent people. Salman, who is 30, grew up in the Chicago suburbs and lived in the East Bay area, in northern California, before moving to Florida with Mateen. Police Chief John Mina said officers held back for some time because Mateen indicated he had a bomb vest.

“She said he didn’t kill 50 people”.

Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, told reporters that his son had never mentioned being homosexual.